Insight meditation and telomere biology: The effects of intensive retreat and the moderating role of personality

Abstract

A growing body of evidence suggests that meditation training may have a range of salubrious effects, including improved telomere regulation. Telomeres and the enzyme telomerase interact with a variety of molecular components to regulate cell-cycle signaling cascades, and are implicated in pathways linking psychological stress to disease. We investigated the effects of intensive meditation practice on these biomarkers by measuring changes in telomere length (TL), telomerase activity (TA), and telomere-related gene (TRG) expression during a 1-month residential Insight meditation retreat. Multilevel analyses revealed an apparent TL increase in the retreat group, compared to a group of experienced meditators, similarly comprised in age and gender, who were not on retreat. Moreover, personality traits predicted changes in TL, such that retreat participants highest in neuroticism and lowest in agreeableness demonstrated the greatest increases in TL. Changes observed in TRGs further suggest retreat-related improvements in telomere maintenance, including increases in Gar1 and HnRNPA1, which encode proteins that bind telomerase RNA and telomeric DNA. Although no group-level changes were observed in TA, retreat participants’ TA levels at post-assessment were inversely related to several indices of retreat engagement and prior meditation experience. Neuroticism also predicted variation in TA across retreat. These findings suggest that meditation training in a retreat setting may have positive effects on telomere regulation, which are moderated by individual differences in personality and meditation experience. (ClinicalTrials.gov #NCT03056105).

Kindness and cellular aging: A pre-registered experiment testing the effects of prosocial behavior on telomere length and well-being

“…Notably, telomere elongation has been reported elsewhere (e.g., Aviv et al., 2009 ), and several longitudinal studies reported telomere elongation in over 20% of their samples across spans of up to 5 years ( Berglund et al., 2016 ; Farzaneh-Far et al., 2010 ). More relevant to our study, one small trial of meditation found lengthening over just 3 weeks, in the retreat group ( Conklin et al., 2018 ).…”

“…Some trials have tested whether psychological and/or behavioral interventions may positively influence telomere length. Meditative, lifestyle, and psychosocial interventions have produced reductions in the rate of LTL shortening or increases in activity of telomerase, an enzyme that counteracts telomere shortening ( Biegler et al., 2012 ; Conklin et al., 2018 ; Jacobs et al., 2011 ; Ornish et al., 2013 ; Schutte & Malouff, 2014 ). However, results from larger trials have been mixed.…”

Stress and immunosenescence: The role of telomerase

“…A more recent study observed an increase in PBMC telomere length, but no difference in telomerase activity, in participants of a meditation retreat compared to non-participating controls. Interestingly, pre-assessment telomerase activity levels were associated with greater telomere length increases across both groups, while postassessment telomerase levels were negatively correlated with reports of practice diligence and the number of hours of practice time during the retreat (Conklin et al, 2018). Pre-assessment telomerase activity was also lower in regular meditators compared to nonmeditators, but tended to increase only in the regular meditation group (Epel et al, 2016).…”